


north is south, right is left

by afrocurl



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Erik Has Feelings, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21716278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: What happens when Erik meets a cute guy at work who runs away so soon?Well, maybe something stupid, that's what.
Relationships: Emma Frost & Erik Lehnsherr, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Tony Stark & Charles Xavier
Comments: 12
Kudos: 59
Collections: Secret Mutant Exchange 2019





	north is south, right is left

**Author's Note:**

  * For [puckp95](https://archiveofourown.org/users/puckp95/gifts).



“So where’s your boyfriend?” Emma asks as she smirks at Erik’s look today. He’s wearing his usual attire for working at Stark - slacks, a button down, brogues - but she would rather he wear a full suit. She’s nearly as bad as Mama when it comes to his attire but Emma is at a disadvantage because she’s not related.

“He’s not here today, I told you. He has a meeting uptown and we’re meeting for dinner later.” Lie, lie lie, Erik tells himself. He’s got to keep lying because this whole situation is well out of hand, and if Emma were not sworn to respect Erik’s privacy, she’d know the truth.

The truth is that Erik had made up his relationship with Charles to get Emma and Mama off his back.

But he hasn’t seen Charles in weeks and he’s starting to worry. Not just about the depth of all these lies he’s telling to keep up his made up love life, but also because he likes Charles (what little time they’ve spent together).

Tony - biggest annoying boss there is - has been tight-lipped about where Charles has gone after he arrived in a flurry of meetings three months ago. It’s odd that the newest employee would not be around the office every day so Erik knows something is off, but can’t figure out more. 

So Erik worries more and keeps up all these lies to save himself from ire from the two women who run his life.

-

Charles sits in his new apartment and worries about everything that has happened in the last five weeks. His job at Stark is amazing - Tony always knew how to come in with the right things for Charles - but that guy, Erik, who was in on the first meeting is causing all sorts of problems for Charles’ tattered nerves. 

Erik is just the sort of guy that would destroy Charles’ sense of self. Which is why, after seeing Erik on that first day, Charles hides from him at all costs. He’s even here - back where vice lurks around every corner - because he can’t take falling for a guy who won’t love him back.

Not that Charles has said he loves Erik yet. Charles knows he does, though, just from that brief moment of interaction on his first day.

Erik had been so polite and accepting of Charles’ telepathy but that is always where Charles’ relationships went sour. Charles’ telepathy was great until he accidentally invaded someone’s thoughts and found out that they were with Charles for the kink of knowing a telepath could give them what they wanted each time. Nevermind that it wasn’t how any of Charles’ powers worked. 

Charles is better off working remotely for Tony; he can save himself from whatever heartbreak will come from seeing more of Erik and letting Erik get to know the real him before Charles resists letting Erik go in.

-

“Tony won’t you just tell me where Charles is?” Erik asks for what feels like the fiftieth time this week. 

“Charles is doing his job, Erik. Isn’t that enough?”

“No, it’s not. Why is the newest member of the staff not even here to meet with any of the other teams?”

“Charles is special,” Tony answers and then turns back to look at Dummy and something on his computer. Erik can sense when he’s been dimissed so he walks out, dejected.

-

Charles’ phone rings just past midnight, and he sighs. Of course the only person who would call him this late is Tony so he’s obligated to pick it up.

“What is it Tony? I’m about to get to bed.”

“Erik’s been asking about you all week. What did you do to him in the ten minutes you were together?”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Well, you’ve gotten under his skin - which is rare - so we need a plan to fix this. I can’t have him hyperfocused on you and not on his work.”

“Once he finds out I’m as powerful a telepath as I am, the whole thing will fall apart.”

“Not so much, Erik’s best friend Emma is another telepath. You’re not giving Erik enough credit; he’s not like the usual guys you fuck and dump.”

Charles let out a little “Oh!” of surprise. “Well, it still won’t change anything. It’ll be like every other guy I’ve dated.”

“Why don’t you come back for the Holiday party in two weeks and find out?”

“Is it really worth it for me to come and be destroyed?”

“Erik’s not that sort of guy so why are you worrying?”

“Because I don’t know him and he’s scary.”

“Not scary at all; just gruff and wanting to be out of most of his department’s reach.”

Charles has a moment to think and take in what Tony’s just said. Erik isn’t a bad guy and won’t try and eat Charles alive. Maybe this won’t end badly?

“Fine, if it’ll get you off my back - and perhaps keep another employee focused - I’ll come.”

“Good. I’ll keep it a secret, too.”

“Thanks,” Charles adds before saying, “I’ll see you in a few weeks. Bye Tony!”

Phone down, Charles sighs and worries about exactly what he's just agreed to.

-

Erik sees Tony with a smug look on his face and knows something is up with his boss. “What evil scheme are you working on right now? Does it involve me doing something potentially illegal to Hammer Tech?”

“Nothing like that,” Tony says. “I’m not saying anything else.”

“Fine be that kind of boss. See if I don’t have Emma root around for what’s going on.”

“She likes me too much to do that without going to HR. I’m going to win this one.”

Erik thinks - and realizes he’ll lose - before he says, “Fine. Be that way, but see if I’m as productive as I should be.”

“Oh I know you will, since you’re lacking any sort of social life that doesn’t involve your mother or Emma.”

“I do have a boyfriend, you know.” Erik’s being petulant at this point, but if Emma thinks it’s all true then he might as well open up to someone else.

“Do you?” Tony has a look of skepticism, but Erik lets it go. 

“I do, so kindly leave my social life alone.”

“Of course. Now what were you saying about Hammer?”

“I’m not doing anything like that Tony, and you know it.”

“Be that way, Erik. See if I get you a great Hanukkah present this year.”

“You always get me something anyway because Pepper won’t let you go without it. Now don’t we each have real work to do?”

“Ugh, be responsible.”

“Someone has to since the CEO is lax this time of year.”

-

Charles nervously walks through Heathrow before he catches his flight to New York. He did promise Tony to show up to this party, but now he’s regretting it. Erik’s been on his mind since Tony said that Erik had been talking about him and that makes everything that Charles has been avoiding come back to the foreground.

Does Erik like him in a way that is more than just the people Charles sees other people do? Is Erik’s telepath friend someone he should meet at this party? Would she know more about Erik than what little Charles picked up?

It’s almost too much for him and he wants to turn back around and head north to his flat. But, the stupid voice of Tony pops up and Charles can’t say no to his boss after all that he’s done to keep Charles’ job as remote as possible.

If Erik is like every other guy is this all a dumb idea? Charles needs to keep this job - for the sake of his sanity - but if it means dealing with weird guys, is it worth it?

Is Erik really weird, though? Everything Charles saw in that first day tells him Erik is a sweet man, but who knows what will happen after a few dates.

Charles pushes that all aside. If he thinks more of the what-ifs that might turn bad, he’ll run away.

-

Erik walks into the hotel of the party, Emma on his arm, and wishes he could be somewhere else. Though the decor is all whites and blues (blissfully not Christmas themed), he feels out of place.

He looks around for Tony to say hello when he catches sight of Charles. Charles, who he was sure had shipped off to someplace foreign, is standing with Pepper, looking nervous.

Determined to finally say something, Erik gives Emma a quick look and leaves her to see his quasi-boyfriend.

“Pepper, you did an amazing job this year. I hope Tony’s not making this too much of a time commitment.”

“It’s just as he always does, Erik, and I know what he wants no matter what he says.” She looks over at Charles for a second before continuing, “Erik, have you met Charles Xavier?”

“I saw him briefly when he arrived, but I didn’t get the chance to talk. It’s a pleasure.”

“I apologize for being so hard to catch up with those few days; it was so much to take in, but tell me more about that project you’re heading with the electromagnets.” Charles has this extra polite way of talking that makes Erik smile because everyone else is always rude when it comes to his mutation. Happily, Erik tells Charles all about the project, and barely notices that Pepper slips away after ten minutes.

“Oh I’m sorry, Pepper left us,” Erik says when he puts all those pieces together.

“Don’t worry; I’m sure Pepper will chat with me later.”

“So, where have you been?” Erik’s not sure it’s the best way to go about this, but he needs to know.

“It’s a long story and it’ll bore you, I’m sure.”

“I did ask the question, so please.”

“Well, it’s because of you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. I could tell you were interested after that first day - I’m a telepath - and I couldn’t take falling for a guy who would break my heart a few weeks later.”

“Oh we have so much to talk about then. I’m not at all the heartbreaker type.”

Charles continues to talk and Erik finds that he’s sure this isn’t such a bad idea after all.

-

_Five months later_

“I still can’t believe we were so stupid,” Erik’s saying as they share a fancy dinner after work. It’s been a good time - not at all what Charles expected when he first read Erik - and he’s starting to believe in what else can happen.

“Well, I loved you at first sight, what can I say,” Erik continues before Charles can process what Erik’s said.

“You what?”

“Hasn’t it been obvious, Charles? I know we had just met but you caught my eye and I haven’t regretted it.”

Charles stares a little before he looks into Erik’s mind - carefully - and sees just how much Erik lied and told half truths to everyone when he had to.

“Oh,” is all he can say.

“Yes, Charles. Oh is right. Now let’s focus on other things; we’ve got dinner with Mama next week and we need to work out more of this story so she won’t know I’ve lied to her for so long.”

Charles smiles and says, “Yes, let’s work on this because I don’t want to disappoint your Mama.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta for their help in all of this and the title is from "Lost in the Woods" because I'm a sap this time of year.


End file.
